Brett Ratner's Hercules Moves Up Two Weeks

When Brett Ratner's Hercules was scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 8, 2014, it was in a pretty good position. Sure, the release date would come one week after Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy, one of the more highly-anticipated blockbusters of the year, but at the same time it would be avoiding the competition by being one of the last big studio films to be released in the season. But it seems that Paramount and MGM are in the mood to gamble, and have moved Hercules back to July.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film, which is set to star Dwayne Johnson, has been moved up two weeks and will now be targeting theaters on July 25, 2014. While the movie is still the only title to be announced for that weekend, it's currently situated one week after both X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Hobbit: There And Back Again, and will now face stiff competition in its second week of release from the aforementioned Guardians of the Galaxy.

Based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars, the film won't involve the supernatural elements of the classic Greek myth and instead is said to be a more grounded story. The script was written by newcomer Ryan Condal, and had touch-ups done by Evan Spiliotopoulos. It was recently announced that Headhunters star Aksel Hennie has joined the film as well. You can read more about his role here.

Production will likely begin in a few months, so expecting some more casting announcements in the coming weeks.